Ziyādid Dynasty

Ziyādid Dynasty, Muslim dynasty that ruled Yemen in the period 819–1018 from its capital at Zabīd.

The ʿAbbāsid caliph al-Maʾmūn transferred the rule of Yemen to the Ziyād family to offset the intrigues of the ʿAlids—the Shīʿite opponents of the ʿAbbāsids—who had made southern Arabia their headquarters. The first Ziyādid, Muḥammad ibn Ziyād, firmly established himself along the Yemeni coast (Tihāmah) with the support of a Khorāsānian army and cavalry; he was also recognized by the tribal chiefs along the edges of the highlands. Ṣanʿāʾ in the interior, however, remained under ʿAbbāsid control, and, when the Banū Yaʿfur—the pre-Islāmic ... (100 of 267 words)